League A
The SGFA League A is the top professional league for men's association football clubs in St. Gregory. It is contested by 16 clubs and operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the St. Gregory Football Association. FC Chapman are the defending League A champions (their 8th title), while Bonneville United have won the most League A championships (10). History SGFA Championship years (1979-1985) Originally known simply as the SGFA Championship, the league began play in 1979 with six teams: Cape Wells Wanderers, East Bonneville, Little Rouge, North Bonneville, West Bonneville and Zane Hills. The league expanded to eight teams in 1981 with the addition of FC Chapman and Manorham. League A (1985-present) The league was renamed League A in 1985 when the SGFA added six more teams, all of whom were placed in the newly-formed League B. The 1985-86 season would be the first to adopt the promotion and relegation system, with one team from League A being demoted to League B, and the champions of League B earning promotion for the following season. Competition format There are 16 clubs in League A. During the course of a season (from October to June), each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 30 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. At the end of each season, the team with the most points is crowned League A champion. If points are equal, goal difference and then goals scored are used as tiebreakers to determine the winner. If teams are still tied for either the league championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a playoff match at a neutral venue decides rank. The two lowest placed teams are relegated to League B, and the top two teams from League B are promoted in their place. The third-lowest placed team in League A will play a single match at a neutral venue against the winner of the playoffs involving the third and fourth placed League B clubs. The winner of this match will take the final place in the following League A season. Changes in league structure Number of teams * 1979-80 to 1980-81: 6 * 1981-82 to 1987-88: 8 * 1988-89 to 1992-93: 10 * 1993-94 to 1996-97: 12 * Since 1997-98: 16 Number of teams relegated (automatic relegation except as noted) * 1979-80 to 1984-85: None (no lower league existed) * 1985-86 to 1986-87: 1 * 1987-88: None (league expanded) * 1988-89 to 1991-92: 2 * 1992-93: None (league expanded) * 1993-94 to 1995-96: 2 * 1996-97: None (league expanded) * 1997-98 to 1999-2000: 2 * 2000-01 to 2008-09: 3 * Since 2009-10: 2 automatic plus the 14th-place team in League A playing a relegation match against the playoff winner from League B Clubs The following 16 clubs will compete in League A during the 2014-15 season. :* Promoted through play-offs Otway Town and Merrickton, as the 15th and 16th-placed teams in League A, were relegated to League B for the 2015-16 season, while Banks City and Bonneville Juniors, as winners and runners-up respectively, were promoted from the 2014-15 League B season. Port St. Christopher Pirates defeated Midland International in the playoff between the 14th-placed team in League A and the playoff winner from League B. Pirates were also promoted to League A for the 2015-16 season, while Midland were also relegated to League B. Players Squad formation and foreign players The League A matchday squad includes the typical 11 players, and seven substitutes of which one must be a goalkeeper. Prior to the 2013-14 season, only five substitutes (including one goalkeeper) were allowed to be named. League A squads must comprise a minimum 20 players with a maximum of 25, subject to several limitations: * Within the squad there can be a maximum of 8 foreign players, i.e. from outside the United States and its territories – American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, St. Gregory and the United States Virgin Islands – who hold a temporary working visa. Players who hold dual citizenship with the United States and another country do not count towards the cap on foreign players, however players who hold permanent residency in the United States by naturalization (i.e., "green card" holders) do count towards the cap. * Three players in the squad must be under 21 years of age. Transfer regulations Players may only be transferred during transfer windows that are set by the St. Gregory Football Association. The two current transfer windows run from the last day of the season to August 31 and from December 31 to January 31, or the following Monday should either end date fall on a weekend. Player registrations cannot be exchanged outside these windows except under specific license from the SGFA, usually on an emergency basis.Category:SGFA competitions